Virtual Reality in Military

Designing Virtual Reality worlds are not just for video games, which is a whole other topic to be covered, but the applications of Virtual Reality can be applied to real life applications, for training and practical experience.

Simulations have been a popular tool for training new recruits since the inception of computer based simulations, like Flight simulator, which is quite popular with pilots for some casual flying with a proper setup, and it also facilitates adding flight sticks and other assorted accessories to make your experience flying a virtual flight as real as flying the real deal. A cursory google search will lead you to pictures of computer setups by Flight Simulator enthusiasts that are amazing to look at. When I was a child, I remember going to HAL office in Bangalore for a flight simulator experience.

The reason I’m speaking about flight simulators, and simulators in general, is because this stuff works, and developing a VR simulator for basic training will not only elevate the amount of realism when it comes to being trained by simulators, it can also become the most effective method of peacetime air force and infantry training by adding the necessary equipment to felicitate the process.

Video Games like ArmA are already a very good army simulator, where you can play as a soldier from fighting on the front lines to going into special ops, the United States army realized the potential of training new recruits with VR, and have implemented it, there are instances where recruits are given VR headsets and given exercises to complete, paratroopers can be trained in skydiving without investing in multiple real life jumps, by strapping a parachute harness onto the recruit and giving them a VR headset.

Virtual Reality is already making waves in military training in the United States, in the coming years, there’ll be an increase in VR training, and this opens open prospects for game designers and animators to design simulators that help the troops in their training.

Keeping the changing trends of the world in mind, we here at IACG train our students to adapt to the rapidly changing multimedia and animation technology world. VR is the future, and it’s happening now, the students who will design the worlds for this are being trained right now at IACG.